Comments on: Record Year for Private Equity Fundraising http://truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/ Academic commentary on law, business, economics and more Sun, 12 Feb 2012 23:39:41 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Bob Smith http://truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5233 Wed, 01 Feb 2006 08:54:54 +0000 http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5233 Part of the reason the rich get richer is that only the wealthy can invest in exempt offerings. I’d love for small investors to particpate in my ventures, but the cost of a non-exempt offering can be 20% or more of a small offering. Apparently, the SEC doesn’t understand opportunity costs to a small investor being saved from a strong investment opportunity, and the profits therefrom.

]]> By: TRUTH ON THE MARKET » The Ban on General Solicitation and Advertising http://truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5232 Wed, 25 Jan 2006 23:24:17 +0000 http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5232 [...] I blogged last week about the recommendations concerning Sarbanes-Oxley 404 adopted by the SEC Advisory Committee on Smaller Public Companies at a meeting on 12/14/05 (see here).  The transcript of the meeting is now available on the SEC’s website (click here).  Today I want to talk about a different recommendation adopted by the committee that has not received much if any attention but is arguably more important for small companies (at least small emerging companies) than the proposed S404 exemption.  I’m referring to the recommendation to “[a]dopt a new private offering exemption that does not prohibit general solicitation and advertising for transactions with certain purchasers.â€?  This is something I’ve argued for in the past (see my article, Relaxing the Ban:  It’s Time to Allow General Solicitation and Advertising in Exempt Offerings).  Basically, studies have indicated that there is a funding gap for emerging companies seeking start-up and early-stage private equity.  The funding gap persists notwithstanding large inflows into venture capital funds because as funds have gotten bigger they have by necessity shifted to later-stage and larger deals (see here).  Angle investors could fill this gap but the ban on general solicitation/advertising greatly impedes this.  Hence, my proposal to “relax the ban.â€? [...]

]]> By: William Henderson http://truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5231 Thu, 19 Jan 2006 04:48:27 +0000 http://www.truthonthemarket.com/2006/01/18/record-year-for-private-equity-fundraising/#comment-5231 Bill, we had an exchange on a related topic on Conglomerate back in November. Again, I see the separating equilibrium here where smart money has the ability to hire the best managers. Further, the capital markets are becoming more efficient, which means that large scale investors, who offer lots of capital with relatively low transactions costs, get the best projects.

Certainly, this rich-get-richer phenomenon has always been the case, but the growth of the sophisticated venture capital and private equity sector (which includes essentially no middle-class investors) suggests the possibility that the imbalance between rich and middle has to potential to accelerate.

As we continue to shift the risk of old age to individual investors by scuttling tradition pensions (that can hire high quality managers and invest in some of these alternative vehicles), I think we are kidding ourselves that this situation is not a political tinderbox.

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